Title: Carmen the Vampire Slayer – What I Did On My Summer Vacation: Bobbie Glass

Author: Panda

Fandom: Popular

Pairing: Brooke / Carmen

Rating: PG 13

Disclaimers: Everything good belongs to someone else. Popular characters belong to Ryan Murray etc and the Buffyverse belongs to Joss Whedon etc. I own nothing and I make no profit from playing with the characters and ideas.

Author’s notes: This story takes place in the summer between junior and senior years and is part of a series of short stories from the point of view of different characters.

“Ferrera! Get your butt into gear!” Bobbie Glass yelled down the stairs.

Just what was I thinking, she asked herself, giving into Jane McPherson’s idea about Carmen Ferrera moving in. Yeah she felt sorry for Carmen who had needed somewhere else to live but what on earth had prompted Jane to talk to her about it and even more so why she had given in remained a mystery. So here they were four days after the move and already all Bobbie’s carefully thought out rules and schedules had been shot to hell. Bobbie resisted tapping her foot in impatience as the noise of giggling –giggling!- came up the stairs and the sound of footsteps approached her. Two girls appeared in the doorway holding hands.

Bobbie wondered once again if Jane McPherson had realised that her step-daughter and Carmen were definitely more than ‘just friends’ and if that was why Carmen wasn’t allowed to stay at the McQueen/McPherson residence. She must have known. Any fool could see how the two young women were clearly imprisoned in the throes of teen hormone driven lust. And McQueen clearly resented Carmen not being there any longer and had decided to blame her for it. Why am I perpetually misunderstood, Bobbie wondered? And catching herself added and why do I care what two teenagers think of me?

Coming back to reality Bobbie realised that the two girls were taking her zone out as an opportunity for a protracted smooch. Trying not to be distracted Bobbie headed for the door.

“We’ll drop you home” she said over her shoulder to Brooke.

“But…” Carmen began.

“No buts Fererra” Bobbie said smugly “You know the rules.”

“But on Prom night…” Brooke tried.

“Prom night was a special occasion. No patrolling unless I say.”

Bobbie grinned as she felt the resentment directed at her. This was more like it. Just because she was forced to associate with Carmen and her little groupies in an extra curricular way didn’t mean that she had to be nice to them. Predictably the two of them sulked together on the backseat for the whole drive.

“Why do you have to be like that?” Carmen asked, once they were alone.

“Like what?” Bobbie was genuinely perplexed “I’m always like that.”

“Yes but why? What did we ever do to you?”

Bobbie almost ground her teeth together in frustration:

“Carmen, for the one millionth time: it isn’t some kind of punishment that I don’t let anyone patrol with you. It’s for their own safety. And yours.”

“But you…”

“Years. Of. Training.”

It didn’t seem to matter to Carmen how many times they had that conversation but Bobbie was getting mighty sick of it. Carmen brooded for the rest of the drive until she looked up in surprise as Bobbie manoeuvred the car down a street of warehouses.

“Something different tonight?”

“I read reports of some mysterious ‘disappearances’ down here, random body parts being discovered” Bobbie pulled the car in behind a dumpster “I thought we should check it out.”

“Demon, you think?”

Carmen sounded excited, but nervous. Since the big demon resurrection on the night of the prom hadn’t happened this would be her first demon, if it was one.

“Did you pack my axe?”

“What am I? Your valet? Pack your own weapons!”

Carmen looked huffy again until Bobbie opened the trunk and tossed her a large sword.

“Try that”

“Hey, is this the one that I nearly killed Brooke with?”

Bobbie rolled her eyes remembering that training session of two days ago well. Carmen had been having a little trouble mastering the sword and she, Bobbie, had beaten her in a couple of practice bouts. This was important letting Carmen know that strength wasn’t everything. When she had been beaten for the fifth time Carmen had thrown the sword in frustration at a target in the wall, right as Brooke had walked in the path. Lily had screamed and Brooke had frozen, which had probably saved her life as the sword crashed into the wall directly where Brooke would have stepped next. Brooke had fainted and Carmen had run off. Well, if today was anything to go by they had recovered from that little incident. However Carmen hadn’t touched the sword since. Carmen was looking at the sword like it was contaminated.

“Swap” she said, offering Bobbie the weapon.

“Too heavy for me” Bobbie hefted her own lighter sword and strapped it around her body then picked up a couple of stakes.

“I…” Carmen began than looked in the trunk “You set this up!”

“I told you, pack your own weapons.”

Bobbie slammed the trunk and began to walk away from the car. After a second she heard Carmen follow her.

“Any idea what kind of demon?”

Yes it was petty but Bobbie felt she had to assert her authority somehow. She was the Watcher after all.

“Well there are several possibilities, but we need to gather more evidence.”